Wallace Lewis

Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur Author, Recommends Author of Theodosia Burr Alston Article

2pp ALS inscribed overall and signed by American author Lewis Wallace (1827-1905) as "Lew. Wallace." at the top of the second page. Written at Crawfordsville, Indiana on July 7, 1896. The plain cream stationery shows expected wear including light paper folds, else very good to near fine. Some adhesive residue along the left edge of the first page and minor mounting traces verso. Collector's Ray V. Denslow's cataloging notes in pencil at top. Each page measures 5.5" x 8.5". Ex Ray V. Denslow (see bio below).

It was as a devoted Hoosier and fellow author that Lew Wallace recommended the work of one "Miss Maria Fletcher, of Indianapolis" to correspondent R.N. Johnson, Associate Editor of the New York-based Century Magazine (operated 1880-1931).

In part:

"Miss Maria Fletcher, of Indianapolis, has prepared a paper on Theodosia Burr, daughter of Aaron Burr. While recently sojourning in Salt Lake City, she became acquainted with a lady evidently a connexion [sic] of the ill-starred Vice President, and obtained from her new facts concerning Mrs. Alston and her death, together with portraits, all which she had put together briefly and in excellent language. I have taken the liberty of advising her to submit the manuscript to the Century Mag. first…"

Theodosia Burr Alston (1783-1813) was the only surviving daughter of Vice President Aaron Burr, of dueling notoriety. In 1801, she relocated to South Carolina after marrying the state's future governor, Joseph Alston. On December 31, 1813, Theodosia, along with two other passengers and a small crew, boarded the schooner Patriot, departing Georgetown, South Carolina for New York City. The ship was presumed lost at sea in early January 1813, yet for decades afterward, speculation as to the fate of the ship's most famous passenger persisted. Did Theodosia die in a storm? Was she captured by the British? Executed by a mutinying crew? Kidnapped and enslaved by pirates? Interest in Theodosia was revived in the late nineteenth- and early twentieth- centuries with the publication of novels and magazine articles about her life and death (like Maria Fletcher's soon-to-be-submitted piece).

Wallace wrote this letter from his home in Crawfordsville, Indiana, almost 20 years after he published his best known novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. His account of a Jewish nobleman's encounters with Christ became the bestselling novel of the nineteenth century, outstripping even Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Wallace used some of his Ben-Hur income to construct a monumental study adjoining his home between 1895-1898. Today, tourists visiting the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum in Crawfordsville can see its tower, dome, and carved friezes depicting famous characters from works of Wallace's fiction.

Wallace served in the United States Army during the Mexican-American and Civil Wars. He published Ben-Hur in 1880, while serving as governor of New Mexico Territory between 1878-1881. Wallace served as the U.S. Minister to the Ottoman Empire before retiring to Indiana to continue his writing career.

Provenance

Ray V. Denslow (1885-1960), a fourth generation Freemason, and internationally renowned Masonic historian, having written over 20 full volumes and 62 booklets on Masonic subjects. He held extensive positions as a Freemason over his lifetime including Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter R.A.M. of Missouri and as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge, A.F. & A.M. of Missouri. Perhaps his greatest national honor was that of serving as General Grand High Priest of the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, from 1942-46. He was Grand Master of the Knights of the York Cross of Honor in 1949; Grand Sovereign of the Red Cross of Constantine in 1943; Grand Chancellor of the Grand College of Rites; Great Prior of the Chevaliers Bienfaisants de la Cité Sainte, U.S.A. in 1952; and Grand Abbot of the Society of Blue Friars at the time of his death. He held almost 100 honorary memberships in Masonic groups stretching from France to the Philippines.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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